Farnsworth Group provided fundamental and enhanced commissioning, building enclosure commissioning, testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) services for a new 11-story judicial complex. The facility houses 37 courtrooms, supporting spaces, and numerous departments, including the county clerk, state’s attorney, public defender, court administration, Jury Commission, court reporters, Probation Department, law library, and shared conferencing spaces. The project integrated public spaces with secured areas, including in-custody holding.
The building was developed with an emphasis on sustainable design, security, the ability to test and verify enclosure performance, operations and maintenance, ease of movement, and future expansion
The commissioning process was proven valuable by establishing metrics for measuring expectations in the building’s design.
With its complicated curtain wall system, the courthouse is an example of the importance of adequately communicating testing procedures and requirements. Because curtain wall performance mock-ups are costly, Farnsworth Group worked with the owner, design professional, and contractor to better understand the building enclosure process and meet the requirements while reducing testing costs.
Construction was completed in October 2020, with Farnsworth Group’s warranty phase tasks extending into 2021. The project was awarded LEED Gold certification in March 2021
